Cruella De Vil
Cruella De Vil is the arch-villain of The Hundred and One Dalmations by Dodi Smith which was adapted into an animated film by Disney and later remade as a feature film which was also critically and commercially successful. Known for her chic and stylish but loud and flamboyant demeanour, Cruella is vain, self-centered and mentally unstable. She suffers from violent mood swings and is incredibly selfish to the point of psychopathy. A spoiled London heiress, Cruella is wealthy and has been on Forbes Fictional 15 for quite some years. She embodies the Sin of Sloth as she orders her henchmen, the Badduns to do everything for her, despite her obvious intelligence and surprising physical strength. She could also be seen to personify Wrath, Pride or Greed. She ranked #6 in the top 30 disney villains (One better than Captain Hook but one under Ursula.) In addition, in 2003, she ranked 38th on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 50 Film Villains of All Time, one of only three Disney villains to make the list, the other two being The Evil Queen (ranked 10th) and Man (ranked 20th). 101 Dalmatians Disney’s first, and most critically acclaimed, version of the character appeared in One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961). This version of the character inherited several visual traits from the original Dodie Smith version: her hair, which is black on one side and white on the other; her skintight, black dress, and her enormous mink coat, which swings about her like a cloak. This version of the character, designed by Bill Peet and Marc Davis, was also completely skeletal, and smoked constantly, leaving a trail of green, foul-smelling cigarette smoke wherever she went. Her physical appearance and general manner is evocative of some sort of hellish beast or demon, a fact made reference to in her name and in her song. Cruella, an old school friend of Anita’s, claims that she cannot live without furs. She hires Jasper and Horace Badun, two incompetent crooks, to steal Pongo and Perdita’s fifteen Dalmatian puppies, and buys eighty-four more through legitimate means. She intends to have all ninety nine puppies skinned and made into clothing. The Colonel, Sergeant Tibbs and Captain are among the animals of the countryside to help Pongo, Perdita and the puppies return home, while Cruella and the Baduns persue them. Unlike previous Disney villainesses such as Evil Queen, Lady Tremaine and Maleficent, Cruella is not a schemer. Instead, she acts purely on impulse, and is thus prone to reckless behaviour, particularly tearing through the snowy landscape in her car. Unlike future versions of the character, this version of Cruella was seemingly invincible in the eyes of the Dalmatians, who, though they could just about able to keep Jasper and Horace Badun at bay, were unable to face ‘that devil woman’. Their only hope was therefore to flee; Cruella’s defeat in the film is brought about not through the deeds of the animals but her own stubborn relentlessness (which, by the end of the film, has seemingly degenerated into a mad fury), and the incompetence of her henchmen. Other Versions House of Mouse In Mickey's house of Villains, Cruella formed an alliance with Jafar, Ursula, Captain Hook and Hades and they take over the House of Mouse. She says if she ruled the house, she'd run things differently. Ursula added "with a splash of Evil". Live Action For 101 Dalmatians, Cruella was reinvented as the head of a London-based fashion house, House of De Vil. Rather than an old schoolmate, Anita Dearly is one of her employees and, it is implied, her best designer. Cruella first takes a fancy to Dalmatian skin when Anita draws spots on one of her dress designs. Along with Jasper and Horace, Cruella had a new accomplice: Mr. Skinner, who is given the job of killing and skinning the puppies. As the head of a fashion house, Close’s Cruella was given a more varied wardrobe of furs, including an enormous, red cloak, a Siberian tiger pelt, and clawed gloves. This version of the character was less invincible than her animated predicessor, and it is the animals of a nearby farm who defeat her, in slapstick fashion, to leave her muddy, covered in manure but uninjured, after which she is arrested. In the film’s sequel, "102 Dalmatians", Cruella is seemingly cured of her fur (and spot) obsession, thanks to experimental hypnosis. Released from prison, she is eventually released from her kindly state by the chimes of Big Ben, reverting to her old self. She returned to her old ways, aided in her quest for spotted pelt by fellow fashion designer Jean-Pierre Le Pelt and unwilling butler Alonso. Her pursuit of another Dalmatian coat (this time with a matching hat) is once again in vain, however, as the dogs of a struggling animal shelter drench her in icing and batter in a Parisian bakery. TV Series The incarnation of Cruella that appears in 101 Dalmatians: The Animated Series (which relocated the events of the films in America), voiced by April Winchell, shares traits with both the 1961 version and the live-action version. In design, she resembles the Cruella of the original animated version. However, the series’ slightly different design style, as well as lower budgets, resulted in a simpler design; most notably, the black dress and fur coat were dropped in favour of a simple black and white dress. This version of the character also lost previous incarnations’ excessive smoking habits and, notably, obsession with fur; instead, her goal throughout the series was to own the land currently owned by Roger and Anita Dearly. Like the live-action version, this Cruella was the head of the House of de Vil, and was often defeated in comedic fashion. Her minions included Jasper and Horace, as well as her pet ferret, Scorch. Disney TV Specials Disney's Halloween Treat: Cruella DeVil's car chasing scene from 101 Dalmataians Category: Classics Category: Rich Category: Completely mad Category:Women Category:Disney's Halloween Treat Category:Masters of Evil Category:Living characters Category:Comical Villains Category:Foiled Villains Category:Disney Divas